Gary Versace

Gary Versace was born in 1968 in Greenwich, Connecticut, and grew up playing accordion before turning to piano and the Hammond organ. He earned a master's degree in music performance from the Eastman School of Music and spent eight years as a tenured professor in the jazz studies program at the University of Oregon. After moving to New York City in 2002, he worked widely as a pianist, organist, and accordionist with bandleaders including John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Maria Schneider, Lee Konitz, and Matt Wilson. The Jazz Journalists Association named him Organist of the Year in 2012 and honored his accordion playing in 2018, and in 2019 he shared a Grammy nomination with vocalist Kate McGarry and guitarist Keith Ganz for the trio album The Subject Tonight Is Love. He released his album All for Now in 2020.